Annapolis 'Hit Man' Pleads Guilty, Admits To Killing Man For $3,200: Officials

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — An Annapolis man pleaded guilty to murder in the fatal shooting of a man in exchange for $3,2oo, officials announced Wednesday.

Michael Gibson, 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's office said in a news release that referred to Gibson as a "hit man."

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life in prison. Gibson will be held at an unnamed county detention center until his April 26 sentencing.

The case centers around the 2020 killing of Leslie Eugene Saunders, 50, in Annapolis.

Thomas Smith, 31, paid for the attack after an argument between his mother and the victim. The victim was the longtime boyfriend of Smith's mother, Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said.

Smith also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He is also in custody at an unidentified county prison until his March 31 sentencing. The prosecution is seeking a life sentence with all but 40 years suspended.

"It’s shocking that a verbal argument prompted Thomas Smith to hire Gibson to kill Mr. Saunders and that Gibson was willing to commit such a heinous crime for money," Leitess said in a statement. "Not only was this murder cold and calculated, but it now leaves three men’s lives — and their family’s lives — devastated."

The Shooting

An ambulance took the mother, who was not identified, to a hospital for a medical concern after her argument with the victim, the State's Attorney's office said. Smith then agreed to pay Gibson $2,000 before the murder and $1,200 in cash after, the office said.

Surveillance cameras showed Smith and Gibson meeting up on March 15, 2020, in the 1100 block of Madison Street, the office said. Smith drove Gibson to Marcs Court, where the victim was walking a block away, the office said.

Gibson then shot Saunders and fled with Smith in a Ford F-150 pickup truck, the office said. Detectives tracked the accused men as they left the area, the office said.

Officers found Saunders on the ground near Bens Drive at 6:23 p.m., the office said. Authorities said he was unresponsive and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, the office said.

Medics pronounced Saunders dead at the scene, the office said. The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that the cause and manner of death was homicide by gunshot, prosecutors said.

Investigators arrested Gibson on April 3, 2020. He was legally prohibited from possessing a gun, the office said.

"The defendant had little regard for human life or the community when he tracked the victim down in the neighborhood with the help of Thomas Smith," Leitess said. "I would like to thank the Annapolis Police Department for their work in determining that not only was this a murder, but that it was also a murder for hire."

"I am grateful that both of the perpetrators of this senseless crime have been held accountable for a brazen murder that took place in Annapolis," Leitess said. "The Bens Drive neighborhood should not have to live in fear that this kind of gun violence will be accepted as common place."

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